---
title: "Passo Gardena (Grödner Joch)"
type: "pass"
lang: "en"
elevation_m: 2121
region: "Trentino-Alto Adige"
valleys: "Val Gardena and Val Badia"
url: "https://dolomites-guide.com/dolomites-passes/passo-gardena/"
description: "Passo Gardena, at 2,121 m, links Val Gardena and Val Badia. You can reach it by bus 473 or on foot, and trail 2 leads from the pass to the Puez hut."
---

# Passo Gardena (Grödner Joch)

Passo Gardena links Val Gardena and Val Badia, between the Sella and the Cirspitzen. You can reach it by bus in summer, on foot or by lift, and trail 2 leads from the pass to the Puez hut.

- Elevation: 2121 m
- Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
- Valleys: Val Gardena and Val Badia

Passo Gardena (Gardena Pass, or Grödner Joch), at 2,121 m (6,959 ft), links Val Gardena and Val Badia. You can reach it by bus, on foot or by lift, and it is the starting point of the big hike to the Puez hut.

## Where is Gardena Pass and what can you see from it?
The pass opens between the Sella massif and the Cirspitzen. As you climb to it on foot, the view widens over the Sella, the Cirspitzen, the Sassolungo, the Sassopiatto and the Fanes group.

![Passo Gardena below the Sella walls](/images/gardena-pass-sella-walls.webp "Passo Gardena, below the Sella.")

## How do you get to Passo Gardena?
**By bus**, Südtirol Mobil line 473 (Val Badia - Passo Gardena - Val Gardena) serves the pass in summer, every hour.

- On the Val Badia side, it starts in Corvara, where line 472 to [Passo Campolongo](/dolomites-passes/passo-campolongo/) also stops.
- On the Val Gardena side, it starts in Plan de Gralba, where line 471 leaves for [Passo Sella](/dolomites-passes/passo-sella/); the first morning buses start from Ortisei.
- Season dates and timetables: [Südtirol Mobil](https://www.suedtirolmobil.info/).

**On foot from Colfosco**, trail 650 (or trail 8 B, then 8) climbs to the pass in 2 hours: 7 km (4.3 mi) with 500 m (1,640 ft) of ascent. **From Plan**, in Val Gardena, trail 654 is shorter and steeper: also 2 hours, for 3.5 km (2.2 mi) and 516 m (1,693 ft) of ascent.

**By lift from Colfosco**, the Plans-Frara gondola drops you at the Jimmy hut, at 2,222 m (7,290 ft). The pass is then 20 minutes away on trail 2, downhill (1 km (0.6 mi), 101 m (331 ft) of descent). **From Selva**, the Dantercepies gondola, open from 12 June to 4 October in 2026, takes you to its top station, from where trail 654 leads to the pass.

**By car**, a traffic restriction is being prepared on the pass road: our article on [traffic at Passo Gardena](/blog/dolomites-2027-passo-gardena-traffic-limits/) covers 2027. Two dates to know in 2027: the Sellaronda Bike Day on Saturday 5 June and the [Maratona dles Dolomites](https://www.maratona.it/en/) on 4 July. Check traffic conditions with the organisers before heading up on those days.

## What can you do from Passo Gardena?
**The Puez hut by trail 2**: the trail heads north-west through the alpine pastures, then climbs to the Cier passage (2,464 m (8,084 ft)) and the Crespëina ridge (2,531 m (8,304 ft)). It then continues over rolling ground to Forcella Ciampëi and the Puez hut, at 2,481 m (8,140 ft).

![The alpine pastures of Passo Gardena below the Cirspitzen](/images/gardena-pastures-cirspitzen.webp "The pastures at the start of trail 2, below the Cirspitzen.")

The way back is by trail 4 and the Stella Alpina valley down to Colfosco, not to the pass: plan the end of your day accordingly. This is a high-altitude hike that rises above 2,500 m (8,202 ft), not a stroll around the pass.

## When should you go to Passo Gardena?
**During the Dantercepies gondola season**, when buses and lifts all run. Check the 2027 dates before counting on the bus or the lift.